Jungfraujoch Ice Palace

ABOVE: The Jungfraujoch Eispalast is
carved from the interior of Europe's longest glacier.

The railroad station at
Switzerland's Jungfraujoch is the highest in Europe, and it's likely that the
nearby Eispalast is the highest-altitude ice palace in the world. The
Jungfraujoch ice palace is also longer-lasting than most, being hewn from
Europe's longest glacier.

Although the Jungfraubahn has
been hauling passengers up to the Jungfraujoch for more than 85 years, the ice
palace wasn't begun until an artistically inclined mountain guide started
hacking at the Aletsch Glacier's innards in 1934.

You might ask why an
artificial tourist attraction needed to be built within a few steps of
Switzerland's most celebrated mountain landscape. Good question. Maybe the ice
palace was built simply to give the tourists something to look at when the viewing platform was
fogged in.

The
palace's ice sculptures include vaulted rooms (see above), birds, animals,
penguins, people, automobiles, furniture, and even a bar. The palace is an
amusing novelty and is worth visiting when you're on the
Jungfraujoch--especially since it's free to Jungfraubahn passengers.

Related
article:

Jungfraujoch Railway
Our illustrated article tells how to reach the
Jungfraujoch by train and how to save money on the fare. It also has links to
Web sites for cheaper mountain-railway and cablecar excursions in the
vicinity.